Two of my favorite bloggers/authors and fellow developers are combining to create what I hope will become one of the greatest developer resources on the web.

Joel Spolsky of Joel on Software fame and Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror fame are partnering to create stackoverflow.com which from their respective announcements sounds like a combination of Google and Experts Exchange on steroids!

Joel’s announcement

Jeff’s announcement

Go read them yourself, but I am excited! I can’t wait to see how this plays out, hopefully I will be able to get involved. The site itself is also available, albeit in a very “startup” mode at stackoverflow.com.

Cheers,

Robert Porter

I just came across this site and the resources contained for the first time today! Thanks to post by Robert C. Cain better know (at least by me) as Arcane Code.

Take a peek at the .Net University web site and materials, it is well worth the visit!

The available courseware is freely downloadable and they allow it to be "re-delivered" to technical audiences.

Their mission statement gives a pretty good idea what they are all about:

Welcome to .NET University! Our mission is very simple. We want to give you a good developer-oriented overview of new and emerging Microsoft technologies.

This site has been added to the bookmarks!

Cheers,

Robert Porter

Microsoft has made available many of the most frequently asked for Hotfixes. Now we can, finally, get them without having to go through a 30 minute minimum process of contacting Microsoft Product Support Services.

The site containing the released hotfixes is here its part of the Connect program at MS, and is called DevDiv Hotfix Public Availability Pilot Program.

Now, the majority of the words in the title of that bugger indicate that this is a perishable resource likely to go away at any time, so browse over there and download these bad boys before they go poof, even if you don’t install them. I suggest you also read the KB articles associated with each and store the contents with the downloaded files.

They have posted the standard “Own Risk” warning on the site, most if not all of these fixes have not been through their own internal testing. So do use with discretion!

Cheers,

Robert Porter

Updated

I have recently read two books. One of which is not new, but which I now wish I had bought years ago.

Both books are exceptional, both kept me reading, both gave me equal shares of good dreams and some real nightmares.

I am probably the last person in the country to have read “The World is Flat” by New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman. But if I am not the last and you have not yet read this powerful book, then RUN to the bookstore and buy a copy!

There has been more discussion and regurgitation of this book than any other I have seen in recent times, so I won’t add any more, other than to say, go buy it, but more importantly READ it.

The other book that I have recently read and also could not put down was “Micro ISV – From Vision to Reality” by Bob Walsh. This book is much more than yet another “How to start a business and be the next Bill Gates” type of book that bookstores are way to full of.

This book looks at the factors driving a whole new type of business, and how to grab hold of a piece of that for yourself.

I would describe myself as “Marketing Challenged”, I have plenty of idea’s even a few ready to go products, but I am terrible when it comes to marketing.

This book has taught me more in one sitting than years of reading other books and talking to professionals.

No, it won’t replace true marketing help, but it sure does an excellent job helping you understand how to look for and find what you need, and how to at least get your business to the point where you can attract and afford marketing help.

Check out http://mymicroisv.com it is a “Blog+resources” site maintained/run by the author, Bob Walsh. It does not have a forum system, by design, but it does offer a wealth of resources for anyone considering becoming a Micro-ISV. The “missing” forums? You can find those here at Joel on Software!

Go get ‘em, read ‘em, then repeat!

Cheers,

Robert Porter

Yippie! Scott Hanselman has posted the 3rd annual Tools list! If you are not familiar with it, you should be, if you are a programmer at least! Scott has published what amounts to a detailed review of the tools and utilities he uses on a daily basis on his blog for 3 years running now. It’s a fantastic resource for the rest of us.

I have no idea where he finds the time to do all he does, but he has saved me enormous amounts of time and energy just with this list. I also listen to, and highly recommend, his weekly podcast, Hanselminutes which is also a great resource for developers.

Find a quiet spot, get comfortable and go read it!

Cheers,

Robert Porter

Hmmm